The sharing of digital information between people is a ubiquitous feature of the computer age. With the advent of personal always-on mobile devices and massive reductions in costs per byte and increases in bandwidth, the popularity of sharing large data items electronically between groups of people has grown. While the shared data items are typically of a personal character such as photos shared between friends and family, the uses of widespread data sharing extend to all aspects of human endeavour including, commercial, professional and military.
Paradigms for interfacing the sharing and transfer of data between people are still largely based on personal computer software models such as email programs whereby a user sends a message with or without attachments to another user or a plurality of users on a distribution list. Email interfaces typically display messages received or sent in a scrollable list, and the selection of recipients is accomplished by selecting the recipients from another scrollable list. SMS text messaging, while confined mainly to operation on small hand held devices, follows the list-based email model.
There is a growing need for a more intuitive user-friendly and informal interface for sharing data items between uses, in particular one which is best suited to the common situation of communication between a small group of individuals.
The inventors of the current invention have found a much improved method of interfacing the sharing of data items between individuals, that exploits the natural attraction to representations of spatial location and is particularly suited to touch screens.